Kataydeehttp://www.kataydee.com
Mon, 11 Aug 2014 17:19:54 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.4.14A Conversation With a 3-Year-Old Rexhttp://www.kataydee.com/2014/03/a-conversation-with-a-3-year-old-rex/
http://www.kataydee.com/2014/03/a-conversation-with-a-3-year-old-rex/#commentsSun, 30 Mar 2014 13:00:13 +0000http://www.kataydee.com/?p=1576I heard his little voice call out “mom?” He was up from his nap. A very, very short nap.

We had spent the morning shopping and he fell asleep on the way home. I got him out of the car with him still asleep and carried him across the little courtyard to the house. A man at the neighbors was working at a table saw which explained the pounding and knocking noises I heard once we were inside—an uncommon, minor inconvenience to living in a townhouse. I put the stereo on (Pandora easy listening station) louder than normal and laid him down, crossing my fingers.

And now, in an attempt to get him to fall back asleep again, I climbed into the bed and told him to close his eyes. After a few minutes, realizing it wasn’t going to work, I said, “Rex, what am I going to do when you don’t snuggle with me anymore?”

Pause. “Will you please always snuggle with me?”

Rex: “Yes, I will snuggle.”

Me: “But one day you’ll be big and you won’t want to snuggle anymore. And that’s okay.”

Rex: “Mommy, I am big.”

Me: “Yeah, you are buddy.”

]]>http://www.kataydee.com/2014/03/a-conversation-with-a-3-year-old-rex/feed/1What I Want in 2014http://www.kataydee.com/2014/01/what-i-want-in-2014/
http://www.kataydee.com/2014/01/what-i-want-in-2014/#commentsTue, 07 Jan 2014 20:53:40 +0000http://www.kataydee.com/?p=1557“Sipping on gin and juice. Laid back!” Did you know that song is 20 years old??? Thanks Mashable for that urgent email message that I could have lived without reading but just HAD TO and of course go on to find out the other 20 songs turning 20 in 2014. How many other articles did I read in the last 365 days that were interesting but totally useless or got me unnecessarily fired up. I’ve become acutely aware of how many things vie for my attention that don’t deserve it and instead eat my precious time. There isn’t a single moment I say to myself “today I’m going to get lost in Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, or a bunch of useless articles for at least an hour!” Just like lifting weights regularly helps build muscle, I believe regularly getting back little moments of my life will bring clarity and focus to the things I truly want to accomplish.

2014 is a fresh year full of potential. At 30 I have a clearer sense of who I am and what I need to be happy — something I couldn’t have said in my twenties. I feel more in control of my choices than ever. And, while I like to think regularly appreciating the people and things I have around me makes a key contribution to my overall attitude, I fear floating through my days letting things happen to me instead of actively making them happen the way I want.

In an effort to get my thoughts out, here are a few ideals I have for what I want to see in the coming year. This isn’t etched in stone or completely polished but if I waited for perfection it wouldn’t ever happen. So here we go — my 2014 ideals:

1. Make our home a zen retreat for our family. This means keeping up on laundry, dishes, general picking up, and stocking it with true household essentials. It also means regularly clearing out clutter that can distract from our main tasks and drain our energy. Decorate our home with meaningful things we love or that serve a purpose. Avoid unnecessary DIY projects and tackle hopefully limited handyman projects first thing. Help each family member stay on track and assist them with tasks when possible.2. Make the kitchen the heart of our home. Let it be a warm place, full of nutritious food options. Try new things. Reduce stress by planning ahead. Play more with spices, vinegars, and other seasonings. Be solid in my belief of eating things made by God and avoiding chemicals in our food. Make veggies the main focus.3. Support and focus on teaching our children. Show them character through example (easier said than done). Love them like crazy, even in discipline. Expose them to new experiences but avoid over scheduling them. Fuel Lindsay’s love to build things with 1,000 post-it notes, paper clips, scrap paper, etc. Allow them both time for unplanned independent play. Get them outside in the dirt more often. Help them be aware of the choices they make. Let them fail so they can grow. Make time to talk and do things we love together. Have them help make dinner and bake so they can pass it on to their families someday.4. Continue learning. Read a good mix of psychology and career growth books and articles. Implement ideas learned. Take on more challenges. Try something different. This is the least concrete goal I have that I’m hoping to dig into more. 5. Use resources wisely. Be less wasteful, consciously finding ways not generate more trash or items needing recycled in our universe. Use money to make money. Stay debt-free and avoid delusions of grandeur. Recognize things for the value they bring (or take), not their price tag. Buy only items that help support our goals. Use time wisely and cut out to dos that aren’t essential. 6. Prepare. Ensure that prep for the next day and coming week are done before wasting time getting sucked into the interwebz. Plan outfits when needed and make sure I have the right items on hand. Regularly have gifts ready ahead of time for birthdays. Follow up on things I say I will do or find the right way to say no.7. Focus on real relationships. Make family and friends a priority. Disconnect from the online world and be present in the moment.8. Take responsibility for my own happiness. Appreciate the little moments. Focus on fun and humor over worry. Choose to act instead of react.

Of course, no plan or “ideals” can be met without specific ways to achieve them. I can tell you, though, a week after originally writing these ideas for action, I’ve already crossed a few off. I know I probably won’t stick to them all and maybe they’ll all change entirely but shooting high means I’ll fall in a better spot than having not even tried, right? This list will be in my closet with a pen nearby to regularly revisit. The point is to make a conscious effort to support my ideals and work toward them. Here’s a few habits I’m hoping to adopt:

Get up early instead of staying up late to a) spend a bit of time with Shawn before the work day starts and b) stay focused in my limited personal time.

Plan 1-2 meals in advance. Make a list of our favorite fall back meals. Devise a way to plan a weeks worth of meals without wasting food if plans change.

Call my parents, sister, grandparents, best friends once a week, even if it is only for 15 minutes. Send them pictures they’d like directly instead of broadcasting them out on social media sites.

Make a monthly to do list & what to tackle weekly. Make sure every item added to my to do list supports my goals.

Let bedtime take an hour during the week to make sure there’s enough time for each kid’s chosen book and the lights off “can I tell you about my day?” moments ← the latter is easily my favorite thing we started doing in 2013.

Get my sweat on at least twice per week; bonus points for three times. Once the weather warms up, hit up more trails as a fam.

If something takes less than 15 minutes, just do it. If it takes less than 5, I have no excuse not to do it (I started this in 2013 and while it’s not always the case, it has made a big difference in just getting things done).

Any tips to share? The best way to plan meals? Little bits for increased productivity? Bedtime routines? Hey, morning routines? Let me know. And cheers to 2014!

]]>http://www.kataydee.com/2014/01/what-i-want-in-2014/feed/12013 Recaphttp://www.kataydee.com/2013/12/2013-recap/
http://www.kataydee.com/2013/12/2013-recap/#commentsWed, 01 Jan 2014 05:06:44 +0000http://www.kataydee.com/?p=1547Most of you are probably holding champagne, anxiously waiting the ball drop, confetti prepped in-hand. Me? I’m wrapping up this post with my favorite three people snoring next to me after our fun-filled day of airport travel as we made our way back from 10 days in MO and NE. Waking up on New Years Day with a clean house and all luggage unpacked and put away is the thing 30-year-old moms dream of obviously.

If you were awaiting for our four faces to grace your mailbox this year, quick print this out and pop it in your mailbox! Bam! Instant love from the Davises! This year I gave the Christmas card the kabosh in favor for well, I don’t know, sanity? But don’t fret, if there weren’t enough FB and Instagram posts to give you the rundown on what we’ve been up to, he’s few highlights of 2013 with the traditional Christmas letter humblebrags worked in.

Lindsay

Lindsay is 6.5 and started first grade at a new school this year. Nightly homework has become a new routine she floors us with her ability to figure things out. She loves to read, play with her American Girl dolls, and make rainbow loom bracelets. You can also find her building helicopters out of old juice boxes and toothpicks or tubes of water and plastic cups taped together or whatever new craft she’s dreamt up. We’ve embraced her creative side by providing her with a year’s worth of scotch tape for Christmas. This fall she joined her first soccer team with Howard County Parks and Rec named the Revolution (of course we pumped her up on the way to the game with the Imagine Dragons song). This summer she swam the whole length of the neighborhood Olympic sized pool and we’re hoping to convince her to join its swim team this coming summer. Her transition to MD has gone well as she has loved making new friends and seems to know someone wherever we go in the neighborhood. She has joined me in the ever-sacred practice of car singing and we can throw down Disney’s “let it go” and an impressive rendition of “royals.” She continues to be the most loving big sister and tenderhearted one of the fam.

Rex

Rex is 3 and our jabbering cuddle bug who still roars at people. He attends 3-yr-old Pre-K three days a week and loves bringing home his library book each week and taking toys for show and tell every day even though they only actually share them on Fridays. One of my favorite moments of the day is picking him up on my bike and riding home …I could however do without the action shot pictures he takes with my phone while sitting in the trailer behind me. He continues to be fearless in the pool and loves to jump in and pretend to dolphin flop to the side. He brushed up on his tee ball skills on his first “team” this fall. His current goal seems to be prepping for future long jump stardom as he continually practices launching himself off the bed, couch, stairs, etc. to see how far he can land. He and Shawn still hit the driving range and Rex can currently drive the ball farther than I. His current way of making friends is to blow raspberries at them which does not appear to be effective yet. In typical boy fashion he loves trucks, loud things, and wants to be just like his dad. He also knows to kiss those he loves and say “I miss you” which is pretty dang charming (most likely also learned from his dad :-P).

Shawn

Shawn officially took on a new roll with Transamerica Agency Network this year and is motivated as ever. His office is right on the Inner Harbor of Baltimore and he continues to build his airline miles visiting offices and company meetings around the country. He and I loved joining the group for the Leaders Conference in our new fav spot of Jamaica last September. Shawn sadly didn’t get to hit the golf course as much as he’d like this year but he did get to join in on swimming the length of the pool. He also has some pretty smooth moves to our “Royals” rendition and makes a mean crepe and egg breakfast every Saturday and Sunday. We had the chance to host an ugly sweater party for “34 East” (the TAN B’More office group) and their families and hope to do more entertaining again soon. Shawn’s also been anxiously watching his Mizzou Tigers learn to throw a football during year one in the SEC.

Kati

As for me, I’m still enjoying a part-time gig with Iowa-based Clickstop including helping launch another new brand. I never knew how excited I could get about watching sales for nuts and screws comes through. I had the chance to go back for the company retreat in Dubuque a few weeks ago where I was reminded just how hilariously awesome they all are. In Maryland, I’ve loved having visitors while we get settled including my favorite Nebraskan-turned-New-Yorker, Erin, who did the historic Fort McHenry with us and also Shawn’s sis, Shanna, and our niece, Maya, with whom we ventured to the National Zoo. I also had the chance to meet up with my fav college roomie Amanda at Arlington. Two CR buddies Trisha and Kristi visited us a few months ago too and I did my best to show them a few spots around Georgetown and Federal Hill but we found our favorite locale to be Looney’s, the neighborhood watering hole. Clearly I’ve been a bit spoiled by familiar faces in our new home. As for making the move East, I’ve been fortunate to be surrounded by amazing neighbors who have helped make this place feel more like home. I’m also learning to love to cook and am still in search of better ways to feed our fam. We’ve loved finding this produce delivery service and multiple nearby natural food stores. Our neighborhood has almost everything we need so the majority of miles I put on my car are from making an extra loop on the way home from errands to help Rex fall asleep. I also had the chance to visit my new nephew Maverick in Nebraska and he’s as cute as ever.

In other news, I gave up Facebook until Jan 1 (today?!) after pledging with several other fellow Clickstoppers to take back our distracted moments. The crazy thing is, I’ve loved not having it and I’m hoping you’ll see less of me there in the coming year. And maybe that will mean more here instead? It could happen.

I hope 2014 finds you and your loved ones well! Happy New Year!

]]>http://www.kataydee.com/2013/12/2013-recap/feed/4Summer Highlights of a Mom in GIFshttp://www.kataydee.com/2013/08/summer-highlights-of-a-mom-in-gifs/
http://www.kataydee.com/2013/08/summer-highlights-of-a-mom-in-gifs/#commentsWed, 21 Aug 2013 05:31:06 +0000http://www.kataydee.com/?p=1472In the last couple months we mamas have been reacting to this Huff Post article Why I Regret Being a Stay-At-Home Mom, then this follow-up article about the women of the Opt-Out generation. And we kept adding fuel to the fire with responses like Quitting Your Job to Be a Full-Time Mom is Probably a Bad Idea and my particular fav Refusing to Opt-Out or Lean In. After the brand new experience of being at “home” with the kids and fitting in work at home during odd hours for the last few months, I found those articles full of valid points that hit home. I typed up my perspective in a long, drawn out bulleted list. And deleted it. Instead, I have blatantly copied taken a page out of Neon Fresh’s hilarious, snort-inducing How I Feel series to bring you:My Summer Highlights While at Home with the Kids…and in a New State (presented in GIFs).

So here we go. Picture me………..

Pulling out of the driveway on a rare adults-only night out…

Walking into the bathroom and finding that I have finally succeeded in training another human being to change the toilet paper roll…

Cruising with the kiddos in ma badass Highlander on our way to Ikea to score some deals on lack shelves…

When one of the other English-speaking moms at the playground starts chatting me up…

Feeling all Suzy Homemaker, gettin’ my dinner thing on when Shawn gets home from work…

Leaving the Maryland DMV for fourth and final time with my car registration in hand…

Finding the two-year-old standing on the counter pillaging snacks from the cabinet and I start getting mad about it but then realize he is on his way to being independent…

Facebook-stalking potential new babysitters to find they have tasteful profile pictures and are smart enough to lock their profiles down from strangers like me…

Filling out our address, phone numbers, emergency contacts, employers, etc. three times on all the new yet still insanely repetitive daycare/school/dentist/doctor forms…

And then checking the tracking on a package of something I ordered online to find it is being shipped to my “default” old address in Iowa. And realizing it’s the second time I’ve done it…

Paying the parking meter, crossing a busy street, and shopping for then purchasing furniture paint all while holding a sleeping toddler…

Having an adult conversation about Obama after our first family trip to the White House…

Debating on whether I even need to make dinner after finding 6-year-old Lindsay in the kitchen, stripped down to her underwear eating ice cream straight out of the carton…

When Shawn’s flight home is about to land signifying the end of a single-parenting marathon…

Finding that there are no Super Targets anywhere nearby…

Coming back into the living room after, well, any time I’ve attempted to do something mildly productive…

Seeing all four floors that I picked up yesterday covered in new things and deciding to join in rather than fight it….

When both kiddos are passed out after the tooth-brushing-book-reading-i-need-to-pee-i-need-water-im-scared-im-not-tired routine and we look at the clock to see it’s only 8:30PM and we realize might have time to watch that hot new National Geography documentary on Netflix…

Knowing that both kiddos start school next week and I will be able to occasionally run to the grocery store and pee alone again!

And there you have it. My summer summarized.

]]>http://www.kataydee.com/2013/08/summer-highlights-of-a-mom-in-gifs/feed/2Three Littles & Their Grandparentshttp://www.kataydee.com/2013/07/three-littles-their-grandparents/
http://www.kataydee.com/2013/07/three-littles-their-grandparents/#commentsMon, 22 Jul 2013 14:07:52 +0000http://www.kataydee.com/?p=1441If you know Shawn’s mom, you know that she is the quintessential grandma always prepared with a wallet full of pictures of her family. Whereas I’m terrible about actually printing pictures out, her walls are covered with so many pictures that you instantly feel the love when you walk in the door. As a combined Mother’s/Father’s day gift this year, we decided to get Shawn’s parents pics of them and their three grandkids.

Thank you Tara of Shae Photography for working your magic as always! These three littles move quickly and so I’m so happy that we were finally able to get them all together for a few shots. Here’s just a few of my favorites.

As anyone with little people knows, the real thing to watch during one of these photo sessions is what’s happening behind the camera. Our series of stupid faces and antics must have worked.

Thank you John and Diane for being such loving grandparents to these three!

]]>http://www.kataydee.com/2013/07/three-littles-their-grandparents/feed/1What a A Well-Stocked Kitchen Should Havehttp://www.kataydee.com/2013/07/what-a-a-well-stocked-kitchen-should-have/
http://www.kataydee.com/2013/07/what-a-a-well-stocked-kitchen-should-have/#commentsWed, 10 Jul 2013 15:06:05 +0000http://www.kataydee.com/?p=1410I’m a baker. Not a cook. Cooking has always seemed like more of a necessity than an enjoyable activity (probably because for the majority of my adult life cooking has been done with one arm or while hollering at giggle monsters to not jump off the furniture…yeah, let’s blame the kids). Enter our friend Dan. He and his wife cook amazing meals and are all around fabulous hosts. I kid you not, when live lobsters arrived at the office squirming in a box, Dan knew what to do. He invited Shawn and I over for the best paella I’ve ever had. Who does that? If we had gotten them at that time, they probably would have wound up as pets.

Apparently I hinted at his skills enough so that as a going away present Dan invited me over for an afternoon of one-on-one cooking lessons with recipes that we would serve to friends that night. We made four different dishes that can be switched up for tons of entirely different meals (links to recipes at the end of this post) . The biggest lesson I learned? Just having some things in your kitchen at all times makes it easier. Here’s just a few of those items we now have on hand.

A sad site note, I lost all of the pictures from the night. That or I had too many martinis and forgot to snap them …not really, my phone deleted all my pictures a day before we packed up the house (queue miniature violin please).

We also made all of the dressings which were beyond easy. I have multiple pages full of notes for these dressing but I’m going to be lazy and not type them up so check out all of these simple dressing recipes. We made the Caesar and creamy Parmesan dressing.

And mayo? Dan let me in on the secret that mayo is about the simplest thing to make yourself and skip the fake sugar (yes, there’s corn syrup in your store-bought mayo, go look) – here’s a homemade mayo recipe I pinned that I made in 5 minutes flat the other day.

Thank you Dan for helping me become more comfortable in the kitchen! We have made these and gotten more adventurous in our new kitchen.

]]>http://www.kataydee.com/2013/07/what-a-a-well-stocked-kitchen-should-have/feed/2She…Artwork for Binz’s Roomhttp://www.kataydee.com/2013/07/she-artwork-for-binzs-room/
http://www.kataydee.com/2013/07/she-artwork-for-binzs-room/#commentsTue, 09 Jul 2013 22:28:31 +0000http://www.kataydee.com/?p=1395 Having been in the house for a month, my goal the last week has been to get the stack of picture frames taking up space in the basement up off the floor and on the walls. I’m happy to say I’ve made some headway. While wasting my time scrolling through Pinterest, I came across this image that I found to be the perfect combination of girly and inspiring.

I’m not sure I have ever really “imagined” my life a certain way, but nonetheless, the print stuck in my head and I had to find it …and came to find it’s actually from a book full of quotes. The book is She…by Kobi Yamada.

I found a used copy of the book on Amazon for literally less than $8.00 including shipping – how’s that for inexpensive artwork??

A couple small white frames that originally hung over the crib two houses ago (as you can see in this pic on Flickr) were perfect for framing the quotes. As with everything in this house (which is super lacking in the storage department) either the frames needed to get up on the walls or find a new fate at Goodwill.

The prints now hang in Linds’ bedroom. I especially love that the frames that first hung over her crib now hang in her bedroom again. Here’s how it’s looking:

(And by the way, Linds has a walk-in closet with a window now. My crowded badly lit closet is quite jealous).

As the daughter of a librarian, I had a tough time tearing pages out of a book (sorry Mom!). It was hard to choose just which quotes to use — some are definitely too much for a 6.5-year-old to understand. You could argue these quotes are a little too much too but I have visions of her one day fully comprehending the thought behind them and how much I love her and want her to be happy. Hopefully it’s when she’s a moody 14-year-old and mad at me and pouting in her bedroom because lordy knows that will happen with my feisty, opinionated little girl. Here’s a close up of the quotes she and I chose:

I’m hanging onto the book because I love all the quotes. Maybe one day we’ll switch the quotes out with new ones?

Her room is slowly coming together. For the last several years we have had her mattress on the floor because I was always afraid of her falling out and hurting herself. The new house has given me a reason to finally order her this bed frame I’ve been eyeing for a while. It has been waiting on the manufacturer for a month now – let’s hope the wait will be worth it and she’ll love it (but probably not because she disagrees with me most of the time).

Oh my sweet, sassy Lindsay Binz…

Photo by Tara of Shae Photography.

In other wall news, this Anthro D I’ve had since January has finally found a home in the office along with Grandma Lil’s saddle. Fun family fact: Grandma’s horse name was Rex. We had no idea until after our Rex was born and named. Weird? You bet.

In other news, I’m really bad at buying items for decorating. I typically go for something cheap because it just seems frivolous to spend money decorating your house. That said, Shawn and I have both decided we’re ready to stop living like we’re just out of college. We want a space that we love so we sold off our old first apartment furniture, put aside a chunk of dinero for the new living room and dining room, and started looking for a pro to pull those spaces together. I was so happy to come across a Baltimore-based design team and we’re in the middle of the process. I love how it’s coming together! You can see how the living room is shaping up on the Bradshaw Styling blog. That also means our living and dining room are completely empty at the moment so to the guests that will be visiting in the next few weeks, please enjoy our minimalist-chic looking going on!

Summer is here! And here is our official summer bucket list – and some we’ve already been able to cross off. Being in a brand new city means tons of new things to explore and do but it also means it takes a bit more effort to find ideas but we’re learning where to look. This list is a mix of places to go and see around Baltimore/DC plus some other quintessential summertime musts no matter where you live. I don’t expect to do all 41 but at least it gives us an idea on where to start. There is no boredom allowed this time of year!

Picnic on the Smithsonian lawn.

Visit the B&O Railroad update: half done. We visited the one in Baltimore but there’s also one in Ellicott City that the Davises must meet.

Tour the White House.

Make new friends and invite to dinner.

Take a boat tour.

Visit the aquarium.

Go see the monster truck show.

Cheers on the Orioles at Camden Yards.

Find a beach (Ocean City? Recommendations welcome).

Buy bikes and find the best trail (Patapsco Valley State Park?).

Go on a star spangled tour.

Paint birdhouses.

Visit the Maryland Zoo.

Find a concert at the Merriweather Post Pavillion amphitheater. Go to it.

Visit the National Zoo in DC (which is hopefully better than the National Aquarium!).

Scope out the organic food & crafts at the Eastern Market in DC.

Watch horse races in Columbia.

Go incognito at the National Spy Museum in DC.

Go to DuPont circle & people watch.

Sleep under the stars.

Have a water balloon fight.

Go fishing.

Have a “yes” day. All questions answered with yes.

Watch a sunset together.

Play in the rain.

Lay in the grass and find shapes in the clouds.

Grow something in a pot. Keep it alive.

Make a family yearbook.

Catch lightening bugs.

Find a spot to kayak/canoe.

Make homemade ice cream.

Turn our house into a diaper-free zone.

Any other things you love to do that we should add to the list??

]]>http://www.kataydee.com/2013/07/summerbucketlist/feed/2Our New Playgroundhttp://www.kataydee.com/2013/07/our-new-playground/
http://www.kataydee.com/2013/07/our-new-playground/#commentsMon, 01 Jul 2013 15:55:38 +0000http://www.kataydee.com/?p=1352We’ve officially been Maryland-ites for a month. Rolling into town there was an air of excitement and adventure. So many new things to do and see. This first month marks a long list of to dos to get settled but it also marks what I want to be the awesomest summer for our kiddos.

While we waited for the moving truck to make its way from Iowa that first week, we shacked up at the fully-stocked company condo on the Inner Harbor. I’m convinced if it weren’t for wanting more space for family and friends to visit, a 1,000 square foot condo is all we really need—less to clean, fewer toys to pick up, smaller closets for fewer clothes to wash, and nothing but downtown Baltimore to keep up entertained. We thought we would be super busy getting settled that first week but without any of our stuff or Maryland documents to do school registrations, car stuff, etc. we unexpectedly found ourselves with a wide open week. Shawn worked most of the days while the kids and I played tourists.

Eating breakfast in a high rise overlooking the water was entertaining all in itself. The kids loved watching all the boats move and spotting every helicopter that came by. Seeing window washers at eye level was one of those “we’re not in Iowa” moments for sure.

The first morning there Rex colored his tummy with a pen & dumped out my leave-in conditioner all over the bed…because what is a better way of saying “hey mom! aren’t you going to be so excited you took the summer off to hang out with us” like soapy bed sheets?

Even Ze Pus got to enjoy the view—that would be the Raven’s stadium back there.

Here’s just a few things we’ve done to make Maryland our playground this first month:

1. People watching on the Inner Harbor. An Asian tourist came and sat down next to us while her husband took a picture. The only English word they knew was “cheese.” I’m hoping I get to see the Christmas card that is sure to result from that shot. We can see dad’s office window while we play so it’s kind of like he’s there too.

2. Eating all of the candy found in the Inner Harbor & partaking in the street performer balloon animals. Shawn even got to join us for some dragon boat rides too.

3. Spending hours a the Maryland Science Center. This was right out the building’s front door. There was so much to see we will surely be going back. Linds was even pulled in to be in a John Hopkins study about kids’ ability to understand algebra at a young age. Shawn and I also got the chance to see the Science Center lit up at night a few weeks later at their annual Solstice fundraiser—it was like a completely different place in that light. Even adults can enjoy the Science Center.

4. Staying entertained at the National Aquarium. As a girl that grew up with Henry Doorly Zoo in town, I would say this place was meh. The dolphin show was entertaining but pretty short.

5. Eating more candy and having impromptu dance parties.

6. Going to the deafening Monster Jam Monster Truck show at the Raven’s stadium. It might be a bigger city but this is still ‘Merica! Huh? I can’t hear you.

7.Family Pizza and Movie Night at the Center Club. We found the best posing mirror.

8. Putt putt. Sadly the closest the guys have gotten to golf in a month. P.S. Photo bomb!

9. Toddler time at the B&O Railroad. With an outdoor play area and an indoor minature trains and dress up, this is a place where kids can spend quite a bit of time. We even learned that railroads created the first time zones after there were too many accidents – who knew??

Many of these spots are check marks on our summer bucket list we created before moving here. We’ll have to see just how many more we’re able to cross off.

The biggest adjustment this first month has been having the kids home with me, trying to get unpacked (with Shawn was traveling the first two weeks after we moved in), and fitting in hours here and there for work. Establishing a sense of normalcy while being productive and making sure they’re entertained is a juggling act for sure but we’re getting there.

I’m hoping to do a quick tour of our new digs for you too. It’s a work in progress but at least we’re a box-free zone now! Here’s a sneak peak at the guest bedroom. The kids were on quality assurance making sure I assembled the bed frame correctly. Who wants to break in the guest room first?????

]]>http://www.kataydee.com/2013/07/our-new-playground/feed/3Cooking with Dan Recipe 4: Chicken Marsalahttp://www.kataydee.com/2013/05/cooking-with-dan-recipe-4-chicken-marsala/
http://www.kataydee.com/2013/05/cooking-with-dan-recipe-4-chicken-marsala/#commentsThu, 30 May 2013 14:56:35 +0000http://www.kataydee.com/?p=1342This fourth and final recipe from cooking with Dan is another that I commonly see in restaurants but never thought twice about trying myself. I especially love this one because it uses mushrooms—something I didn’t even like until about a year ago (getting older causes you to like these things I’ve determined).

At this point, you’ve made the three other dishes and you’re starting to feel like Giada. Run with it.

Prepare the chicken by removing fat, slicing horizontally, and pounding. Dip each chicken breast in egg then flour and cook fully on a skillet. Pull off the chicken and set aside.

A the marsala wine to the skillet with the sliced mushrooms and chopped sage. Top with some salt and pepper. Let it cook down. Next add chicken stock and let it cook down, adding a bit more salt and pepper.